Yoshihiko Noda

Yoshihiko Noda (20 May 1957-) was Prime Minister of Japan from 2 September 2011 to 26 December 2012, succeeding Naoto Kan and preceding Shinzo Abe. He was a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, and he was forced to step down after losing the 2012 general election to Abe's Jiminto party.

Biography
Yoshihiko Noda was born in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, Japan on 20 May 1957. He graduated from Waseda University in 1980 and was elected to the Chiba Prefecture Assembly in 1987 as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, starting off his political career. In 1993, he was elected to the National Diet for the first time, this time serving as a Japan New Party member. In 2010, he became Finance Minister in Naoto Kan's government, and he used fiscal conservative policies in an attempt to slash Japan's deficit and rein in gross public debt.

After Naoto Kan resigned in 2011, Noda won the DPJ leadership election, making him the next Prime Minister. Noda inherited the tough task of rebuilding Japan after the Tohoku tsunami and earthquake, and he controversially had nuclear reactors take care of Japan's immediate demands for energy; the people were afraid that another nuclear disaster would befall them. Noda also controversially increased the consumption tax and pushed for Japan's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In the 2012 election, the DPJ lost three-fourths of its seats, and the rival Jiminto party under Shinzo Abe won a majority. Noda was forced to step down, and Abe became the new Prime Minister.